Much ink has been spilt over al-Hamadh?n? and his Maq?m?t in recent years. In contrast with studies that have been devoted to the Maq?m?t’s structure, narrative techniques, and the rhyme and rhythm of saj?, the poetry has not drawn much attention from the scholars. The focus of these studies may be the result of the fact that the poetry in the Maq?m?t has often been labeled as “mediocre” (James Monroe, 1984) or “little more than doggerel” (C. E. Bosworth, 1973). However such verdicts lead us to ask why al-Hamadh?n? would decide to place ornate saj? and “doggerel” side by side? In a language where the so-called diaglossia prevails, the disparity between a “high variety” and “low variety” is always discernable. This is similar to what we have observed in the conflict of al-Hamadh?n?’s saj? and his “doggerels.” Is literature written by those who have the most power? Does it also bear traces of the views of the common people? In Tang China, there appeared two famous collections of Buddhist-inspired verse—those of Hanshan (Cold Mountain) and Wang Fanzhi (Wang “the Brahmac?rin”). After comparing them with the poetry in the Maq?m?t, we notice very similar “unpretentious, sometimes quizzical, or edgy, or mocking, expressions.” What is more, the highly vernacular style of their poems intentionally directs Buddhist quest at the broadest audience possible. Therefore in this paper, we would venture some new readings of the “doggerels” in a comparative context, and shed some light on the importance of “doggerels” for the maq?ma genre’s genesis.